MAM - Modern Arts Museum of Rio de Janeiro

The architect Affonso Eduardo Reidy (1909-1964) was invited in the 1950's to design a new headquarters for the MAM on a 40,000m2 site donated by the municipal authority of Rio de Janeiro, on the Aterro do Flamengo , with a landscaping project by Burle Marx (1909-1994). Works were begun in 1954 and inaugurated at different times: the School Block in 1958, the Exhibition Block in 1967 (with a show by Lasar Segall), while the Theatre Block remains unfinished. Reidy's project followed the suggestions of architectural rationalism that guided various works of his. In the specific case of the MAM, it is worth noting the use of a hollow and transparent structure, the free plan of the exhibition space (which provided for flexibility of museography) and the attention paid to lighting.